Skeptics Guide #883

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #882 June 8th 2022 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Infantile Amnesia https://theconversation.com/why-cant-you-remember-being-born-learning-to-walk-or-saying-your-first-words-what-scientists-know-about-infantile-amnesia-182736 News Item #2 – The Age of Giants https://www.livescience.com/why-no-more-giant-animals News Item #3 – AI and Traffic Jams https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/ai-can-help-traffic-jams/ News Item #4 – Green Bank Radio Observatory Segment #2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Correction - UY Scuti Question #2: Gun Safety https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26905895/ Segment #4. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. #1) A new study in yeast finds that about 75% of synonymous (or silent) genetic mutations are actually significantly harmful. #2) In a large Danish study researchers found that having shingles increased the risk of being diagnosed with dementia over the next 21 years by 10%. #3) An analysis of air pollution in China finds a significant association with higher socio-economic status and higher exposures to ambient air pollution. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week "What I love about experts, the best of them anyway, is that they get to their humility early. They have to. It’s part of who they are; it’s necessary for what they’re doing. They set out to get to the bottom of something that has no bottom, and so they’re reminded constantly of what they don’t know. They move through the world focused not on what they know, but on what they might find out.” Michael Lewis (author of “Moneyball,” “The Big Short," "The Blind Side")


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